Meter and mounting therefor



March 1940- v A. H. WOODWARD METER AND MOUNTING THEREFOR Filed Marchl4,v 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 1940- A. H. WOODWARD METER AND MOUNTINGTHEREFOR Filed March 14, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 L l In |||||.I.|l

Patented Mar. 5, 1940 EMT rice

METER AND MOUNTING THEREFOR.

Arthur H. Woodward, Winnetka, 111., assignor to International RegisterCompany, Chicago, 111.,

a corporation of Illinois Application March 14, 1938, Serial No. 195,678

2 Claims.

This invention relates to the use of coin controlled meters with laundryapparatus and analogous mechanisms, and haste do with means for mountingthe meter.

It is known to provide coin controlled meters which control the circuitof an electric motor for driving a washing machine or other mechanism,the meter serving to cause opening of the circuit of the motor at theexpiration of the time period 7 paid for by the insertion of a coin of apredetermined value. There is an increasing demand for coin controlledmeters associated in this manner with laundry equipment and analogousmechanisms. Preferably, though not necessarily, the meter should bemounted upon the controlled apparatus, and, under present practice,considerable diiliculty is, frequently encountered in thus mounting themeter.

Mylinvention is directed primarily tothe provision of relatively simpleand inexpensive means whereby the meter may be mounted with expeditionand facility in an appropriate location with respect to the controlledapparatus. More speciflcally, my invention is directed to means formounting the meter directly upon thecontrolled apparatus withoutnecessity of in any way defacing or marring the latter. It is also amobject to provide mounting means in association with the meter, themeter serving'to shield the controlled meter mounted thereon mountingmeans in'such manner as to prevent unauthorized access thereto, therebypreventing unauthorized removal of the meter, while also serving toshield the coin meter itself, the switch controlled by this meter, andthe coin receptacle which receivesthe coins inserted into the meter.Further objects and advantages will appear from the detaileddescription.

In the drawings Figure l is an isometric elevational view'of a washingmachine of known type, showing a coin withmy invention;

Figure 2 is a front view of the meter casing and associated parts of themounting means, the door of the casing being removed and the metermechanism being also removed from the casing for clearness ofillustration, the mounting band being shown fragmentarily;

Figure 8 is a front view, on an enlarged scale, of the mounting plateand the means for securing plate to the ends of the band and contractingthe latter, the end portions of the mounting being shown;

' 4 is a sectional View taken substantially on line 44 of Figure 2, onan enlarged scale,

in accordance with the meter mechanism and the coin receptacle removedfrom the meter casing and the door of the latter. locked in closedposition;

Figure 5v is a View taken substantially on line 5-.i of Figure 2, on anenlarged scale, the major portion of the meter being broken away and thetub of the washing machine being shown fraginentarily; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 6-8 of Figure3.

In Figure l I have shown the meter and mounting means of my invention asapplied to a washing machine W of known construction, by way of example,it being understood that the mounting means and the meter associatedtherewith may be applied to other apparatuses, the operation of which itis desired to control by the meter. The washing machine W is of knownconstruction, may be of any suitable type, comprises a substantiallycylindrical tub or casing c, and is driven by an electricmotor-concealed by a skirt portion 3 extending downward from. the casingc.

The circuit of the electric motor is controlled by a switch, which iscontrolled by a coin controlled meter indicated in its entirety by thereference number Hi. This meter comprises a steel casing II which iscubiform and preferably of double-walled construction, as shown inFigure 4. Meter mechanism, of suitable type, is appropri- I v30 ing itand is adapted for reception of coins of ately mounted within the upperportion of casappropriate denominations inserted through a hoodlasecured upon the top wall of casing l l. A plunger 14 is slidablymounted through the top wall of the meter casing and is depressed afterinsertion of a coin, thereby closing the switch controlled by the metermechanism, if such switchis open, and conditioning the circuit of theelectric, motor for operation of the latter. The inserted coins aredelivered from the coin Conveniently, this mechanism may be similar tothat disclosed in my copending application for 40 mechanism. into a coinreceptacle (not shown),

' cured to the inner face of door 40, and, in the p timing mechanism,Serial No. 11,529, filed March 18, 1935, now Patent No. 2,147,941, datedFebruary 21, 1939,

The front of meter casing H is closed by a door 40, also preferably ofdouble-walled construction, which flts snugly within the casing.Securing members, one of which is shown at 4| in Figure 4, are welded orotherwise. suitably seoperative position of the door, engage in back ofthe forward flange of an angle strip 42 welded or otherwise suitablysecured to the top wall of casing II. Door 40 is provided, adjacent thelower end thereof, with a cylinder lock 43 of known type, this lookbeing provided with a locking bolt or tongue 44. operable through a slotin the lower flange of an angle strip 45, welded or otherwise suitablysecured to the inner face of the door. A keeper 46. conveniently in theform of an appropriately shaped strip of steel, is welded to the innerface of the bottom wall of casing 'I l, and is provided with anupwardly'offsetelement 46a slotted at 41 for reception of bolt 44. Whendoor 40 is locked within casing 11, the

meter mechanism and the control switch and the coin receptacle, disposedwithin the casing, are

effectively shielded thereby, and unauthorized access to any of suchparts or mechanism is prevented.

to the side flanges149; Plate 48 is thus provided,-

at the central portion of its length, with portions of channel crosssection which eflectively reenforce and stiffen the plate. Flanges 52vare provided with suitably disposed openings for reception of securingmembers, conveniently in the form of headed screws 53, by means of whichthe plate may be secured to elements of a support or mounting member,with the flanges 49 and 59 seating'against the support so that the plate48 forms therewith an enclosure within which the screws 53 are housed insuch manner as to be accessible through slots 5| only.

Two shouldered screws 54, provided at their forward ends with enlargedcylindrical heads, are secured through plate 48 above slots 5|, by meansof nuts 55, and project from the front face of the plate. These screwsprovide, in effect,

headed pins suitable for engagement through keyhole slots 56 extendingthrough back wall ll of easing H adjacent the'top thereof, slots 56converging upward with their reduced portions toward the top of thecasing. By inserting the screws or pins 54 through slots 55, at thelarger portion of the latter, and then moving the casing downwardrelative to plate 48, the upper 'portion of the casing may be readilysecured to the mounting plate. 7

v A steel strip 51 is welded to the back of plate 48 at the lower endsof slots 5! and parallel with the lower end flange 50. This strip andthe plate '48 are suitably bored and tapped for reception of securingscrews 58, which pass through openings in back wall ll of casing H andscrew into the plate and the strip. It will be noted from Figure 2-thatthe screws 58 are readily accessible from the front of casing H, whendoor 40 is :re-

moved. By removing the screws 58 the meter may be detached from' themounting plate with expedition and facility, and it may also be replacedupon the mounting plate, without any necessity of disturbing the metermechanism.

Since the portions of the screws 59 which project rearward beyond plate48 are housed within this plate, as are the nuts 55 and the correspond-'ing portions of the screws 54, and the heads of screws 58 are disposedwithin casing ll, the-meter casing cooperates with the mounting plateinsuch manner as to prevent unauthorized'access to the partsenclosedwithin the casing while also preventing access to the means formounting the meter upon plate 48 or the means for securing the mountingplate upon the supp rt. The meter thus is effective for preventing closing of the motor control switch without insertion into the meterof acoin or coins of proper denomination and in proper number, .while alsopreventing unauthorized removal ofxthe coin receptacle or unauthorizedremoval bf eitherthe. meter or the supporting plate from the associatedsupport.

In Figure 1 the tub or casing ing plate and the associated meter NJ, themeter in this case being thus mounted upon the con- In order thatthe-meter may,

trolled apparatus.

be mounted upon the casing or support 0, I proportions of band 59extending throughappropriately disposed notchesv '59 provided in therearward edges of side flanges 49 of plate 48.

Preferably, the rearward edges of the end flanges 1 50 of plate 48conform in curvature to the curvature of casing c, as shown in Figure'6, flanges 49 and 59 thus seating against the outer face of support 0with which the mounting plate 48".

provides an enclosure. The end portions ofthe band 59 are bentoutW'ardto provide'terminal elements 6| disposed between and substantiallyparallel with flanges 49 and 52 of mounting plate 48. Preferably, arelatively thick steel reenforcing strip 62 is welded to the outer faceof terminal element 6|. The latter and this strip 62 are suitably boredand threaded for reception of the screws 53.. The heads of these screwsseat against the inner faces. of flanges 52, as shown in Figure 6,theseflanges andthesescrews providing means for contracting band 59 tightlyabout the tub or casing c of the washing machine, while also securingthe mounting plate 48 to band 59. This provides means whereby the metermay be mounted uponthe tub or'casing of the Washing machine withexpedition and facility, while avoiding all necessity for in any waychanging or marring the tub or casing of the v- 1 machine. Since theendportions of band 59 and the associated securing and adjusting meansare enclosed within the plate 48, and are inaccessible except throughthe slots 5|, and the meter casing H completely closes these slotsQ-themeter and the mounting plate cooperate efiectivelyto preventunauthorizedaccess to the mounting and securing means, in the mannerpreviously described. While I have illustrated my invention,

by way of example, as applied to a washing machine, it is equallyapplicable to other appa ratuses, the operation of which is" to becontrolled 2 5; c of the washing 2 machine W provides the support forthe mountf upon any suitably located support, by means of I the mountingplate 48 and associated means for securing such plate to the support insuch manner that the securing means is housed within and shieldedagainst unauthorized access, by the mounting plate and the meter casing,in the manner previously described.

I claim:

1. In mounting means, a substantially rectan-' gular mounting platehaving rearwardly projecting side and end flanges, said plate alsohaving two rearwardly projecting flanges spaced inward from andsubstantially parallel with said side flanges, a mounting band havingits end portions disposed beneath said plate with the terminal elementsof said end portions disposed between and substantially parallel withsaid inner and 20 side flanges, and securing means cooperating with saidinner flanges and terminal elements for contracting said band andsecuring said plate thereto.

2. In mounting means, a substantially rectangular mounting plate havingrearwardly projecting side and end flanges, said plate being providedadjacent its sides with lengthwise slots and rearwardly projectingflanges spaced inwardfrom and substantially parallel with said sideflanges, a mounting band having its end portions disposed beneath saidplate with the terminal elements of said end portions disposed betweenand substantially parallel with said inner and side flanges, andsecuring means cooperating with said inner flanges and terminal elementsfor contracting said band and securing said plate thereto, said securingmeans being accessible through said slots. 1

ARTHUR H. WOODWARD.

